


To Be Sick

by IvyCpher



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Adora (She-Ra) has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Miscommunication, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sick Character, Sickfic, The POV switches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:46:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22964110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvyCpher/pseuds/IvyCpher
Summary: When Glimmer gets sick, Adora takes care of her. Adora is plagued with her memories of the Horde and what they did to you if you got sick and did not get better.
Relationships: Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 152





	To Be Sick

Glimmer usually hated being sick. It made her head feel heavy and stuffy and gross and it made her magic all finicky and practically useless. Not to mention the medicine the royal doctor prescribed  _ always  _ tasted like barf and for the fact that when she was sick she wasn't allowed to attend any Princess Alliance meetings or even leave her bed. Ugh, being sick sucked!

Or at least, it usually sucked. And it still kinda sucked, but right now it was less sucky than usual. Her magic was still mostly unresponsive and she felt like crap and her medicine tasted like barf,  _ but _ one thing made it all better. And that one thing was Adora. Her great girlfriend was taking care of her and it made Glimmer feel like- well  _ a princess.  _

Adora would do everything for Glimmer without her having to even ask. She would bring her up trays of food from the kitchen, soup and peanut butter bread and mugs of steamy tea and sweating glasses of apple juice. Even though Glimmer wasn't hungry, she made herself eat at least a little of the food that Adora brought her, she didn't want it to go to waste and she didn't want to make Adora feel bad if she didn't eat it.

Aside from all the food that Adora brought her (even though she didn't eat all of it), Glimmer loved how she was always trying to keep her company. She would bring in large armfuls of books from the castle's library for her to keep busy with and just talk to her. And when Glimmer was cranky and trying to sleep, Adora would go out in the hall to make sure everyone walking by was extra quiet.

Easy to say, Glimmer loved it. How could she  _ not  _ love being fawned over so much by her girlfriend? She loved it so much that even when she was completely healed that she pretended to be sick just so she could keep on being taken care of by Adora. And yeah, there was a little voice in the back of her head that sounded strangely like Bow saying that that was a mean thing to do but- Glimmer just couldn't help it.

***

Adora loved her girlfriend Glimmer more than anything, so when she heard that she had gotten sick she stopped in her tracks with grief and worry. Despite being in Bright Moon for well over a year and unlearning the cruel practices she had learned in the Horde, there were still things that stuck with her. One of those things was getting sick. Getting sick in the Horde was basically a death sentence. If you got sick and your force captain found out, oh you just prayed that they  _ didn't  _ find out. Because if you were found out to be sick, well you had only two days to get better. And if you didn't get better… You were  _ dismissed _ from Horde service in a very permanent manner. Though, if you were a particularly good soldier or an officer of a high rank, you got four days to recover and even a ration of medicine. But if you weren't healed with all that- your treatment was the same and you were  _ dismissed. _

The very thought of dismissal made Adora shiver. Even a scouting mission into the Whispering Wood where the return rate of soldiers was incredibly low was far better than dismissal. Because unlike the Whispering Wood,  _ no one  _ came back after they were dismissed. Their bunk was sterilized and all of there possessions were gone in a matter of minutes. And then there was no mention of them after that. If you were dismissed it was like you never existed. There was an unspoken rule in the Horde that you were to never speak of someone who was dismissed and if you did, you were punished.

  
  


With the racing thoughts of dismissal and sickness filling her mind, Adora was suddenly sent back into the memory of when she and Catra were very small and Catra had gotten sick. With dismissal a constant story told to the young children of the Horde, a threat to stay healthy and strong little soldiers in training, both Catra and Adora were scared to death of what would happen. Adora remembered hiding Catra whenever she could and encouraging her to try hard to look healthy. She would often tell their higher ups that they had just got done running a large race to hide Catra's fatigue and flushed face. She even went as far to sneak around and steal her a ration of medicine. In the end, Catra got better, but Adora still sometimes had nightmares of what would've happened if she hadn't, being stripped away from her best friend. Adora always liked to think that if Catra had been dismissed that she would have pretended to be sick to get dismissed too.

Still- even though Adora knew that she was no longer in the Horde, she didn't know what Bright Moon did when people got sick. In her time of being there, she had not been witness to anyone even catching the smallest of colds. She figured that with Glimmer being a princess that they would give her the most time to heal and that they  _ surely _ wouldn't dismiss a princess.

With her mind racing of what would happen to Glimmer, Adora hurried through the castle to her bedroom. When she arrived there was a doctor by her bedside, testing her with all sorts of contraptions that Adora had never seen before. Glimmer didn't appear anxious, just unwell. Her face was dark and when she talked to the doctor her voice sounded odd.

When Glimmer noticed Adora in her doorway, she smiled and waved her over.

Adora still felt anxious, but seeing Glimmer smile at her made her feel a bit better. She went across the room and sat down with her on her bed under the window. She grabbed Glimmer's hand and watched carefully as the doctor continued to do an odd assortment of tests like listen to her heart with a little metal thingy and touch her neck. She was waiting for the doctor to finish and tell them that Glimmer was to be dismissed, but that never happened.

Instead, the doctor loaded all of their tools into a patchwork bag and stepped away from them both. "It's a cold," They nodded, "As expected." They reached into one of their pockets and pulled out a red, glass jar. "You're to take a tablespoon of this everyday until it's gone." The doctor handed the bottle to Glimmer who grimaced.

"Isn't there a pill or something else I could take instead?" Glimmer asked, looking at the bottle of medicine with distaste. "This stuff tastes so bad!"

The doctor shook their head and laughed softly, "Sorry, Princess, but this medicine is only made in liquid form. It doesn't work as well in pills."

With a groan, Glimmer put her head against Adora's shoulder. "This sucks! Ugh, at least you're here, Adora. If I had to be sick alone I would just  _ die." _

A sudden coldness dropped into Adora's stomach like a leaky pipe, making  _ her  _ feel like she might be sick. She nodded softly, "Ha yeah, good thing I'm here then…"

"Oh no," The doctor clicked their tongue. "You can surely take care of the Princess while she is sick, but," They eyed the girls carefully. "There can be no kissing or anything of similar sort! We wouldn't want you to get sick too." They pointed at Adora.

While Glimmer groaned and reluctantly pulled away from Adora, Adora only eyed the doctor confusedly. "I can get sick from kissing Glimmer while she's sick?" She asked confusedly. "I thought people got sick randomly!"

The doctor shook their head, "While people can get sick seemingly randomly, there are many factors that go into getting sick. Like how healthy you are or if you're around someone who is contagious and sick. Your girlfriend is contagious."

"Con-tay-jus?" Asked Adora like a kindergartener who had just learned a new word. "What's that? That doesn't mean she'll die will she?"

Both Glimmer and the doctor gave Adora a skeptical look. "Uh.. No," The doctor said finally. "Contagious means that you're able to spread your sickness. And Glimmer will not die, she's going to take medicine and be taken well care of I'm sure. She is a princess after all." They shrugged and grabbed their bag off the floor. "Now if you're still sick when the medicine is all gone or you start to feel worse, have your mother send for me." They nodded to Glimmer before leaving her room.

When the doctor was gone, Glimmer sighed and put the bottle of medicine down beside her. "I guess I better get a measuring spoon for this." She started to stand up but Adora stopped her.

"I'll get it!" Adora said quickly. "You're sick, you stay here!" And before Glimmer could debate her, Adora jumped up and left the room. 

"Now what is a measuring spoon?" She asked herself as he nearly ran down the halls.

Adora had tried to look calm when she was in Glimmer's room, but now that she was out she let her fake face of calm slip away. She didn't have a clue of how to take care of a sick person and she didn't know what a measuring spoon was or where she was going to find one. It felt like everything was running together and moving too fast and she didn't know what to do at all.

Finally, Adora had to stop running around the castle to catch her breath. In the middle of a deserted hallway, she stopped running and started to breathe. "This is not the Horde!" Adora gasped between big breaths of air that were somehow not enough air. "Glimmer will be fine!" She closed her eyes and managed to take a singular slow breath that calmed her somewhat. Then when she opened her eyes again, there was one thought that was clear in her mind. "Bow!"

Bow, who had left yesterday to spend a few days with his dads at home, knew everything! He would surely know how to take care of a sick person!

Adora couldn't help but smile as she patted down her pockets for the communicator that Bow had made her. When she found it she opened it, "Call Bow!" She shouted at it. It made a pleasant little noise before the communicator lit up and Adora was met with a live video of Bow.

"Hey, Adora!" Bow smiled, he waved eagerly. "How are things? I'm not really able to call right now because my dads want to have this fancy dinner with their friends- is something wrong?" He asked quickly, seeing the anxious look on Adora's face. Her smile had disappeared once Bow had answered the call.

"No!" Adora threw her free hand in the air. "Glimmer is sick!"

"Oh. Well I hope she gets better soon! I can make her soup when I get back!" There were a few background voices on Bow's end of the call. He turned away from his communicator, "Just a second dad!" He called before looking back at Adora. "Sorry, Adora, but I really have to-"

Adora felt annoyed that Bow didn't comprehend the seriousness of the situation. Glimmer was  _ sick!  _ "Bow, don't go! Please, I don't know what to do!" She cried. "How do you take care of someone who's sick? The doctor person said she was carnivorous and I don't know what a tablespoon is!"

Bow only blinked, he sighed and pushed back his hair. "I think you mean  _ contagious- _ and just… Hold on, let me go tell my dads that I'm going to be a little late to dinner, okay? Then I'll be right back." He assured her.

"Okay," Adora nodded.

Bow put down his communicator and Adora watched as he left his room. She slunk down to the floor, holding her own communicator in both of her hands and waiting for Bow to return. It felt like he was never going to return and that she would be tasked of figuring what to do all by herself but then Bow finally came back into his room and flopped down on his bed.

"Okay-" Bow snatched up his communicator. "Let's start off with the basics," He smiled softly. "A tablespoon is just a spoon used for measuring. You can find those in the kitchens. Now about everything else, it is super easy to take care of a sick person. You just gotta make sure they drink a lot and try to make them eat if you can."

And while Bow continued to tell Adora of how to take care of a sick person, she was mentally making a plan of action. Bow's instructions helped her feel more at ease because of how simple they were. She was sure that if she followed everything Bow told her that Glimmer would get better.

After thanking him, Adora let Bow get back to dinner and then closed her communicator. Then she went down to the kitchens as fast as she could to get the things needed to make Glimmer better. A tablespoon for her medicine, a glass of water, and a loaf of bread (she couldn't find any other food). On her way out of the kitchens, one of the staff caught her and made her tell him what she was doing down there. When Adora told him that she was gathering supplies to nurse Glimmer back to health, he laughed and told her to put the bread back and that he would start working on some soup for Glimmer instead.

"She'll like that better." The cook said.

Adora eyed the bread in her hands, "Will it help her get better again? More than bread would?"

"Way more than bread."

Adora put the loaf of bread back where she found it, "Then make sure to make enough soup to heal her." She nodded sternly before leaving the kitchens with the water and spoon for Glimmer.

"Hey, Dora, what took you so long?" Glimmer asked once Adora returned to her bedroom. "I was starting to think you left me." She joked.

"Nope," Adora tried to sound normal as she crossed the room to sit with Glimmer. Now that she was back with her, her anxiety was starting to return. She handed Glimmer the measuring spoon.

"Ugh, thanks, babe." Glimmer took the spoon and sighed. She uncapped the bottle of medicine and filled the spoon with it. Then as quick as she could she put the spoon in her mouth and swallowed the medicine. "Yuck!" She made a retching noise and took the glass of water that Adora held out to her.

Adora watched as Glimmer drained nearly the whole glass of water in just a few seconds, "Have you ever been sick before?" She asked slowly.

Glimmer wiped her mouth on her wrist and put the cup of water down. "Oh yeah, I used to get sick all the time when I was little." She shrugged. "It was mostly ear infections but it was horrible." 

"And you always got better?"

"Well, duh!" Smiled Glimmer, "Hey, are you alright?" She asked slowly, leaning against Adora. "You're acting a little weird."

"Oh- no I'm fine!" Adora said quickly, wrapping her arm around Glimmer's waist. "Just.. Just worried for you is all." She admitted.

Glimmer's smile softened, "I'll be fine, Adora, don't worry about it. Who's ever went and died because of a cold?" She laughed.

Adora could have given her a whole list of names but she didn't, instead she forced a smile. "Yeah… You're right."

From that moment on, Adora spent the next whole week taking care of Glimmer. She would bring her food from the kitchens to eat and always make sure she had something to drink just like Bow told her. And even despite Glimmer's complaints that it tasted like poison, she made her take her medicine everyday too.

When Bow came back from his dads, he gave Glimmer a get-well basket that they had sent with him to give her. The basket and having Bow back, Adora noticed, really cheered Glimmer up. Having Bow back also cheered Adora up. He helped her take care of Glimmer and together they would all three play card games together.

It was going so well and Glimmer was becoming so much better that on the final day of her medicine, Adora was pretty much bouncing on the balls of her feet as she poured it out into the measuring spoon. "It's your last day!" She said excitedly. "Do you feel all better?" She handed Glimmer her medicine.

"Yea- oh well.. Nearly," Glimmer nodded. She quickly downed her medicine and then coughed. "Ugh, that stuff is so gross!" She handed the spoon back to Adora.

Adora's face fell at hearing that Glimmer didn't feel completely healthy yet, "Nearly?" She repeated slowly. "The doctor said that you should feel better by now…"

"Uh yeah! I mean-" Glimmer shrugged, "I just feel a little sick still." She put her fingers close together, leaving a little space between them. "But you're so good at taking care of me that I'm sure I'll feel better soon!"

Adora only nodded, she was worried if she said anything that her disappointment would leak into her voice. She made an excuse to leave and then left the room as quick as she could.

Before Adora even realized it, she was sobbing as she walked down the hallways of the castle. She didn't want to be crying, she hated crying, it was a sign of weakness in the Horde and an opening to be punished. With her teary vision, Adora could hardly even see where she was going. When she rounded the corner she walked straight into someone and fell back on the floor.

"Adora?! Adora, what's wrong?" It was Bow. When Adora looked at him he was blurry. So she wiped her eyes on her sleeve as he bent down to pull her up. "Is everything okay?"

"No!" Adora cried as Bow pulled her into a tight hug. "Glimmer is still sick and I don't know what to do! I did everything you told me to do and she finished all of h-her medicine but she said she doesn't feel all b-b-better!" She gasped, for a second unable to breathe through her tears. Then she took in large gulps of air.

"Hey, hey!' Bow said softly, pulling away somewhat to look at Adora. With a careful hand he brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. "She's been acting normal to me.. Are you sure she's still sick?" He asked slowly.

Adora nodded so fast that she hurt her head, "She said she wasn't better, that means she's sick."

Pursing his lips, Bow nodded. "Adora, is there a reason you're so worried about Glimmer being sick? Like when you first found out you were- well crazy about what to do." He shrugged embarrassedly. "And now you're really worried about her not being better." He paused. "Did the Horde-"

Sniffling, Adora brought her hand up to her forehead and looked down. "Yeah… I just- can we sit down? I don't feel very good right now.."

"Of course, I was just in the war room- do you want to go in there?" Asked Bow gently.

Adora didn't meet his eyes, she nodded again.

***

Bow lead Adora to the war room where they sat against the wall in the dark. He felt horrible when he saw Adora crying-. He hated to see his friends cry, but seeing Adora cry just felt worse than seeing anyone else cry. 

In his gut, Bow just had a feeling that Glimmer was the reason Adora was crying and it made him mad at her. Glimmer was his best friend, but she did some really stupid things sometimes. And right now, Bow knew that she was doing another stupid thing and it had hurt Adora. Because Bow knew that Glimmer wasn't really sick anymore, she had been acting fine as day when he had went to visit her that morning when Adora was out. But when Adora was back she started fake coughing.

But besides Bow's irritation at Glimmer, he was also curious, curious to what the Horde could have done to Adora to make her so afraid of people getting sick. He held her hand in the dark and waited for her to catch her breath.

"They…" Adora said so quietly that it made a shiver run down Bow's spine. "They called it the dismissal." Her voice was nasally from crying and she sounded tired.

"The dismissal?" Bow asked quietly. He felt Adora squeeze his hand in the dark.

"It's what.. what happened when you got sick and didn't heal in enough time." Adora sniffed, "You were dismissed and no one ever saw you again. It was like you never existed, and when someone is dismissed you weren't allowed to talk about them…" She let go of Bow's hand and put her head between her legs, making her voice muffled. "I just- I knew it wouldn't happen here, that that's not how things work but… I was just scared, I couldn't stop thinking it. That's why I worked so hard to make Glimmer better, but if she's still sick-"

Bow put his hand on Adora's back, frowning. He felt sick. Every time Adora told him something new about the Horde it made him wonder at how they never managed to brake her, to change her and make her into some twisted person. Adora had escaped the Horde and had managed to keep her niceness, her care and concern for others, her want to make sure no one was treated unfairly. She had escaped and Glimmer had made her feel like she was back in that horrible place. 

"I'll talk to her…" Bow said slowly, "You stay here, try to calm down. Okay?"

"You can make Glimmer better?" Adora picked up her head and even in the dark Bow could see just how puffy and pink her eyes were from crying.

Bow's breath hitched, it took him a second before he could nod in response. "Yes." He nodded again and then slowly stood up. "And then I'll bring her to you." He forced a smile and then ducked out of the war room.

Bow had never been more mad at Glimmer. As he walked to her room he couldn't even manage to think. His mind was blank. He didn't even realize he had arrived to Glimmer's room until he was walking inside.

Glimmer, who was lounging on her bed by the window and reading a comic, looked up. "Oh hey, Bow!" She smiled, but then as Bow walked further in the room, her smile faded. "Are you okay?"

"You're not sick." Is all Bow could manage. "Are you?"

An embarssed blush creeped into Glimmer's cheeks. She closed her comic book and sat up, "Please don't tell Adora- I know it's stupid but I really love her taking care of me. I'll only do it for one more day!"

"Oh, I won't tell her!" Bow put one hand on his hip and with the other he pointed at Glimmer. "You can tell her! Because I just ran into Adora having an anxiety attack because she thought you were going to die!"

The colour drained out of Glimmer's face and she jumped out of bed. "W-What? Why would she think that?" She took a step towards Bow, looking absolutely horrified.

"You know all that trauma she has from the Horde?"

"Oh shit!" Glimmer gasped.

"Oh shit indeed, you need to go apologize to her!" Bow pointed at Glimmer's open bedroom door. "She's so worried about you, this has her.. this has her really messed up, Glimmer."

Glimmer put her hands over her mouth, "I didn't know!" She said through her fingers. "Oh my gods- I just- Oh Adora!" And before Bow could say more, Glimmer ran out of the room.

Bow ran into the hall after her, "She's in the war room!" He shouted.

"Thank you!" Glimmer shouted back as she turned the corner.

***

Glimmer couldn't believe how stupid she was sometimes. All she wanted was for Adora to fawn over her more, not to hurt her! Her heart was racing and she felt like she might cry. Why didn't she notice that Adora had been acting weird when she was taking care of her? Ugh, Glimmer could just scream!

She slid into the war room and turned on the lights. Breathlessly, Glimmer saw Adora on the floor with her eyes puffy and glassy and dried tear tracks staining her cheeks. Glimmer couldn't breathe when she saw Adora like that, nor she could she think or even speak.

But before Glimmer could even try to do any of those things, Adora stood up and hugged her so tightly that it hurt. "You're okay!" Adora gasped.

Despite Adora's tight hug that squeezed all of the air out of her, Glimmer managed to speak. "Adora, I'm so sorry." She said.

"For what?" Adora slowly let go of Glimmer.

"Because.. Because I lied to you!" Glimmer cried, "I  _ was  _ all better this morning, and I had been better! I lied because I wanted to keep you doting over me and taking care of me, but I-" She had teared up and took a step away from Adora. "I didn't want you to worry about me, I didn't know I was worrying you. I'm so sorry."

Adora's face became confused and she stared at Glimmer, "Glimmer- I.. I'm not mad."

Glimmer had now begun to cry, "You're not?" She asked through her tears. " _ Why?  _ I'd be mad!"

Adora stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Glimmer in another hug. This one wasn't as tight as the first, but it felt amazing. "I'm not mad because I'm just happy that you're okay!" Adora spoke softly, "I was so worried- I'm just happy that you're not sick."

Glimmer returned Adora's tight hug and closed her eyes. She still felt horrible but it was amazing to know that Adora was not mad at her. "For this I'm going to take care of you, Adora." She sniffled into her shoulder. "Like you took care of me."

"But, Glimmer, you don't have too-" Adora pulled away to look at her. "I'm just happy you're better, really… "

"Well I'm not happy with myself. I want to do this." Glimmer nodded. With her wrist she wiped away the tears on her cheeks. Then she kissed Adora. "The Horde used you, I shouldn't use you too."

Adora opened her mouth but then said nothing for a moment, "I love you."

"I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> If you read through this complete jumble of junk- thanks. This idea was way better in my head. This idea came from my love for dystopian fiction, cause the Horde reminds me strongly of 1984 and Farenheit 451.
> 
> Comments are very much appreciated!


End file.
